


We can't afford that

by al_coholica



Series: Little Rocker [2]
Category: Metallica
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dinner, Early 80's, Financial Issues, M/M, Men Crying, Mpreg, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-02 03:17:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20604116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/al_coholica/pseuds/al_coholica
Summary: Lars and James go out, and James has a little surprise hidden up his sleeve.





	We can't afford that

**Author's Note:**

> Holy shit guys this sucks but hey drop a comment or kudo if ya want.

Another day, another dollar. 

That would be great actually, but right now it was just another 50 cents. Damn, the working world was a cruel one. James sighed heavily, his feet stomped against the stairs a little louder than usual.

It was all for show, because today was not just another 50 cents. It was whole 2 bucks. 

James bit his lip to keep the excited smile from spreading across his face as he pushed the key into the lock and unlocked his door. This paycheck was bumped up due to the fact that some fucker (James didn't know his name, and didn't really care either) quit, which automatically bumped James up into a better position. 

A _manager _position. Oh hell yeah, they were living high dollar now. Not that Lars, James' heavily pregnant husband of like, three weeks knew about it. He had kept the promotion a secret as a surprise to his little drummer. 

Forcing his face muscles into a resting position, James entered their shared apartment, his chest filled with overwhelmed joy. Lars was gonna be so fucking happy. 

"Oh my dear sweet Lars, I have returned," he called out, trying not to sound _too_ happy. He threw his coat onto the couch, peering around the tight corners of their apartment in search for his tiny Dane. 

"In the kitchen, min eneste ene," Lars replied, and James happily (but not too happily) made his way there, his heart pounding. Lars was sat at their very cheap and very small table, bills and notepads scattered all around. He looked up to his husband and gave a radiant smile that stopped James heart in an instant, "Hello there, my beautiful man, how are you?" He asked, scribbling something down on his notepad. 

James smiled and shuffled over to his husband, leaning down and kissing his cheek softly. 

"I'm alright, how are you?" 

Lars sighed and shrugged, arms folding over his stomach. 

"Rough, if I'm being honest. Jeanie, you know that woman who smells like blue cheese and old turkey? Yeah, her. She told me today I had to do shipping and unloading for the next week or so, so if this kid comes out two months early, blame her," he gave a sad grin before heaving himself up (with James' help of course) and trudging over to the cabinets.

"Wow," James spoke up, coming up beside Lars and brushing his hair from the side of his face. He tenderly tucked it behind his ear and caressed his cheek with his thumb, "I didn't know Dollar General had become so popular that they even put heavily pregnant nineteen-year-olds on shipping duty."

"Neither did I. Now, do you want soup and sandwiches or spaghetti for dinner? I've been trying to think of dinner ideas for next week that stay within our budget, so if you have idea, I'll write it down."

James felt that giddy feeling rise up in his chest again, and he removed his hand from Lars face to slide across his back and wrap across his shoulders. 

"Lets go out."

Lars about dropped the soup cans in his hands. He gaped at James, his large green eyes looking at him like he just grew two more heads. It was adorable. 

"Are you serious?" 

"Yeah, I'm serious," James left the kitchen, peeling off his uniform shirt and throwing it somewhere, "I saw that Burger Barn was having a 5 dollar meal deal thingy when I was driving home from work, we could go there," he casually suggested, slipping a red t-shirt on, his smile barely contained.

Lars stared at him from the doorway of the kitchen, his husband could practically see him doing math problems in his head. 

"Well," he bit his bottom lip, carefully considering the offer, "I guess we could... I don't see the harm in it," he winced, placing a hand to his stomach, "The kid certainly agrees to it..." 

James smiled and pulled his jacket on, then helped Lars into his and pulled him out the door, not even caring if he wanted to go or not. They made it down to the car safely, both keeping their eyes open for crazy meth heads or robbers. 

Yeah, they _really_ needed to move away. The drive was very quiet, mostly because Lars was already feeling guilty over going out, and because James was trying not to spill his guts. 

The car sped past Burger Barn, the giant neon pig with a greasy apron over his giant stomach waving at them as they got further away. 

"Hey, elsker dreng, you passed it," Lars said quietly, his finger tapping the window gently. 

A smirk, a pause, then a quick glance from the taller boy. 

"I know, babe." 

There was a longer pause filled with confusion and an untold secret, the air around them was thick with tension, and James almost couldn't hold it in. 

"Are you kidnapping me?" Lars playfully laughed, hoping to ease the thickness around them. His husband nodded and turned left into the strip of various restaurants.

Lars' smile faded, and he paled. The guilt was coming back gradually for the small Dane, but he swallowed down the sick feeling piling up in his stomach. Restaurant after restaurant passed him by, until James took a sharp left into an old steakhouse.

The steakhouse where James took him on their first date. Ya know, when they were still living with their parents and didn't have bills to pay, or an extra mouth to feed on the way. 

"Oh no. No no no no no no no..." Lars shook his head, pulling slightly against James' gentle grasp on his arm as he was helped from the car, "James, we can't eat here!" He said shrilly, ignoring his heart fluttering when James flashed a radiant smile. Damn, if he wasn't so good-looking, Lars would've knocked him upside the head by now. 

"And why not?" He asked, pulling his small husband to his side and ushering him in, despite his objections, "We can just get appetizers and a couple of sodas, then we'll leave, okay?" He lied, holding up two fingers to the hostess.

She was a petite little thing, with dark hair pinned up tightly and brown eyes behind coke bottle glasses. She smiled to the young couple and lead them to a table, where James thanked her and pulled a chair out for his anxious husband. 

"Dette er en rigtig dårlig idé," Lars mumbled underneath his breath before sitting down. James had no idea what was just said, but he just shrugged and sat down across from him. He watched his lover fondly with his chin resting in his hand, recalling the first time they came here so vividly. 

"Do you remember the meal you got here on our first date?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly. Lars looked down to the table, his brain trying to rack up the memory. He looked back up to his husband and slowly shook his head. James sweetly grinned, reaching across the table with his free hand and caressing his little Danes knuckles. 

"You had a steak with mac and cheese and broccoli, I remember you saying that you liked it here, and that it was different from all those restaurants you grew up with," He paused, the shy, seventeen-year-old boy that was here two years ago began to show himself, "And I remember thinking to myself, 'my God, I'm already in love with this guy and I've barely known him for two weeks."

"Min skat..." Lars whispered, returning the light touches James was giving him, his big eyes shimmering in the dim lighting above them. 

"And I remember thinking to myself, 'I wanna marry him, I wanna kiss and hold him, and I wanna wake up every morning next to him. I wanna raise a family and grow old with him.' Then, well, I drove you home, and it was like twenty minutes passed your curfew. And yet..." James looked into those emerald eyes he loved so much, his voice becoming weak in his throat, "You still stuck around long enough to tell me you had a nice time, long enough for us to just stare at each other until you kissed me. Not on the cheek like those dumb fucking romance movies, but on the lips. And what I remember most about that moment was the realization that you were the only one for me." 

Tears were spilling over the edges of Lars' eyelids, fast and hot. He gave a watery smile, inhaling a shaky breath, reaching up to wipe his face. 

"I hate it when you do that," he chuckled, and James shot him a confused smile.

"Do what?"

"Put me on a roller coaster of emotions when my hormones are at their most vulnerable state." 

The two teens then laughed, their first genuine laughs since God knew how long. James sighed, pulling Lars' knuckles to his lips and kissing them oh so lightly. His little drummer blushed behind his tear soaked cheeks. 

At that time, the waiter came over with his little notepad, ready to jot down their order. James felt that excited feeling pump in his chest, it was his time to shine. 

"He'll have a coke, medium rare steak with mac and cheese and some broccoli, and I'll have a coke with your chicken fajitas." Ah the chicken fajitas, the cheapest thing on the menu. 

Lars gaped up at him, his mouth sputtering rapidly, trying to correct his lover before it was too late. But he couldn't get the words out fast enough to do so, and the waiter walked away. 

"Owww.." James moaned as Lars slapped his hand, his green eyes filled with fury. And a hint of fear, but James was too busy hearing his quick words pour out of his mouth to analyze it.

"What the hell, James? You-" He looked around, lowering his voice, "-you know we can't afford that, we'll have to do the dishes or dine and dash, and I can't focking run," The napkin in between his fingers began to fall on the table in shreds, "We're gonna get arrested and sent to jail, I can't have a baby in jail! They'll take it away from me, and I'll ever see them again because I ate a steak I couldn't focking pay for-"

"Pix, I got promoted." 

If James took all the times Lars had shut up in a lightning fast speed, they wouldn't even come close to right now. His jaw instantly was knocked loose, leaving his mouth agape, his lips trying to find the rest of his prison speech. James took this opportunity to reach over and grab his hand. 

"I got promoted to a managers position, which means I get not only one, but _two dollars and fifty cents_ more an hour," he explained, wishing that this great news hadn't have brought his lover to tears 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lars weakly asked, using his free hand to yet again wipe his face. Jesus, this kid had made him cry more than he ever had in his life. 

"Lars, babe, I wanted to surprise you with a nice date first. I mean, we've been married for three weeks, and I feel horrible because all we could afford was a courthouse wedding. I wanted to do something nice for you at least while we we're still technically in the honeymoon stage," James paused, scooting his chair around the table so that he could be next to Lars, "And I figured a romantic and cheesy date would do the trick," He smiled sweetly, cradling his husbands face in his hands. 

Lars sniffed and kissed the inside of James' palm, returning the smile. The waiter, being a big killjoy, came over at this time with their dishes in hand.

The two boys separated and began eating on automatic. 

They both talked to each other about details of their day, with Lars asking what being a big bad manager was like to James saying the next time he sees Jeanie, he'll punch her in the throat.

They laughed and joked, just like they did on their first date, back when everything was certain to be okay. They felt baby kicks and tossed around names, James hoping it'd be a boy to take hunting and teach how to play guitar, Lars hoping for a girl to spoil with pretty clothes and princess movies. 

Even when it was five minutes till closing time, the two still sat under the dim light of the restaurant, plates clean, glasses sucked dry, just enjoying the company of each other and the employees that were definitely not giving them the stink-eye. 

Both boys left minutes later, the fun over when the lights went out and workers were begging them to leave. 

The drive home was the same as their drive to eat, except Lars wasn't trying to figure the inner mechanisms of James' mind this time. Once home, they cautiously made it up to the apartment, where they locked up and shut off for the night. 

Showers were quickly taken, teeth were brushed, lights were shut off. Everything was good.

James slid under the duvet next to Lars, pressing his chest against his back. An arm came protectively around their baby, hands were laced together. Lars hummed tiredly, melting into the embrace, his eyelids heavy. He felt James kiss that one spot behind his ear and nuzzle into his hair. 

"Jeg elsker dig," he whispered, letting sleep gently pull him in.

"Love you too, little drummer."

They were both asleep within minutes.


End file.
